


Love, Hunt Me Down

by esmereldagrace



Category: As the World Turns
Genre: Alternate Universe, Established Relationship, Fluff and Mush, M/M, Sappy, Sleep Deprivation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-10
Updated: 2014-02-10
Packaged: 2018-01-11 21:57:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1178400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/esmereldagrace/pseuds/esmereldagrace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I'm going to kill you," Reid opened with, his glare power set to maximum. "Luke, you promised me you were going home."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love, Hunt Me Down

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [LuRe February Fic(let)-a-thon 2014](http://lure-atwt.livejournal.com/2655283.html) inspired by lucsmum's prompt, 'Sleep Deprivation'. I don't even know what happened here, but the words kept flowing so I though I'd keep on going. ;)
> 
> Title taken from a song by Daughter called **['Touch'](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDaZJ-iTfcI)**
> 
> Do not copy/duplicate for use on other sites.
> 
> This fic is unbetaed so all mistakes you may find are all mine for which I apologise. Hope you enjoy and thank you for reading! ♥

"Reid, you need to get here soon, you know he won't listen to anyone else but you."

" _What_?" Reid stopped his run and slumped down on to a nearby park bench, wiping the sweat on his brow with his forearm. "I don't even know who or what you're talking about," he said, trying to catch his breath and shoving the earphones further into his ear so he could hear properly.

He heard a harsh scoff down the line, and he swore he could hear her roll her eyes, her fists clenching in an aborted punch by her side. Reid wasn't going to lie, Robyn scared him sometimes, but that wasn't something he was ever going to admit to anyone alive or dead.

Chief of Staff and the mother figure he never knew he'd ever wanted, Reid knew that if he ever got on the wrong side of her, he was in for a _world_ of pain.

"Your boyfriend is inches from taping his eyes open because he's a stubborn ass who won't leave until his patient wakes up," she hissed. "I thought you'd taken him home last night."

"No?" Reid took a swig of water from his bottle, confused, blinking against the early morning sun. "I mean, he promised me he was going to his apartment when we went our separate ways because I wanted him to sleep in his own bed but," he scoffed, shaking his head knowingly as realisation sunk in, "he must've snuck back in, the idiot."

"Take better care of your boyfriend then. How can you not know he'd come back?"

"I'm not his keeper," Reid told her. "He has a mind of his own, Robyn--he's so stubborn."

"More stubborn than you?"

"It's possible he's surpassed me, yes."

Robyn laughed. "Well, that's a first then. Someone better at being stubborn than Dr. Reid Oliver? Now _that_ deserves a certificate."

Reid chuckled. "I'll make sure to print it out and frame it for him myself."

Robyn laughed some more before he heard the faint sound of her pager. "Okay genius--get your ass here as quick as you can and get him to bed before he needs to be hospitalised himself. He hasn't slept for almost three days."

Reid was already on his feet and had stuck his water bottle into his shorts pocket, thinking about why he'd been saddled with such an obstinate, stubborn and idiot of a boyfriend and rolled his neck to ease the tension.

"Already on my way."

***

The hospital was a ten minute run away from the park and in no time, he was inside and walking swiftly through the hospital corridors to where he knew his boyfriend would be. Zipping up his hoody to hide the state of his damp t-shirt after all the running he'd done and ignoring the stares from the nursing staff (and some of the doctors) Reid found the room he'd been looking for. Glancing through the small window, he saw a blond head buried in a paper cup of coffee and he smiled to himself regardless.

What an _idiot_. Seriously.

Opening the door quietly, so as not to rouse the little girl in bed who was in a deep sleep and recovering from a transplant, Reid was surprised that his presence hadn't been heard. However, as soon as he closed the door, the blind rattling against the glass, the blond head snapped up and his doe eyes widened in fear. The dark circles under those eyes didn't go amiss, and neither did the state of his skin, pale and so tired looking.

"I'm going to kill you," Reid opened with, his glare power set to maximum. "Luke, you promised me you were going home."

Luke blinked a couple of times, trying to think of something to say before smiling sheepishly, "Hey babe," he said instead, fluttering his eyelashes for added effect.

Reid's face grew stormier. "Don't ' _babe'_ me. Why didn't you go home?"

Luke bit at his bottom lip, swaying sleepily in his chair. "But, I did go home and I just came--"

"Save it," Reid held up a hand and blew out a slow breath, quietening his voice before the girl woke up. He walked his way closer and grabbed the tar-like coffee from Luke's hand, who whimpered with distress and made grabby hands for it. "Don't lie to me and don't think you're getting any more of this black sludge. Get up and come with me."

Emptying the coffee down the sink and throwing the cup away in the trashcan, Reid grabbed a hold of Luke's hand, dragging him up, but Luke resisted and snatched his hand back. "But I need to be with Poppy when she wakes up, Reid--I promised her."

"And what do I tell her when her doctor doesn't come to see her anymore because he's so physically exhausted and ill that he needs bed rest too?"

Luke frowned, eyes narrowing in thought. He scratched his fingers over his day old stubble and yawned, lips forming a pout. "Are you talking about me?"

Reid rolled his eyes, exasperated. "Of course I am, now get up Dr. Snyder, or so help me god I _will_ sedate you."

Luke's bottom lip trembled, his brown eyes unexpectedly filling with tears. Reid didn't know what the hell was happening but this wasn't the meanest thing he'd ever said and it certainly wasn't mean enough to make anyone cry. "You would?" he asked, shakily, blinking against his drowsiness and the wetness in his eyes. "You care for me so much that you'd _sedate_ me?"

Reid bit back the urge to laugh because this was kind of hilarious. Luke must really be tired if he wanted to cry over something so ridiculous. He nodded earnestly to placate him and bent down to hold Luke's face between his hands. "I would," he said, punctuating the statement with a kiss to Luke's forehead, grabbing a hold of his hands, "Come on, let's get you to bed."

A choked but tired sob left Luke's lips and he got up, but not before giving Poppy a quick once over.

"She's fine, Luke--come on now," Reid reassured him. Luke nodded shakily, clearly starting to succumb to the sleep he'd evaded for days now since he was a little unsteady on his feet, but Reid was right there to hold him up.

"Are you drunk on coffee?" Reid asked, amused, adjusting his grip on Luke so he could wind an arm around his waist, Luke slumping into his side.

"Maybe," he mumbled back, rubbing his cheek into Reid's shoulder like a cat.

Casting a quick eye over the machines and her vitals, Reid was satisfied that Poppy was blissfully sound asleep and in no danger whatsoever, definitely safe to leave alone. He led Luke out of the room and towards the doctor's lounge as quick as he could, hoping that there was a bed free for Luke to rest.

This time however, he couldn't avoid interacting with the nosy staff, especially since Luke was so well loved and respected by them all. As one of the youngest pediatricians there, they couldn't help but pass by and say 'hi' to both the both of them. And Luke being Luke was too polite not to answer back, albeit drowsily and incoherently.

They really couldn't be more different from each other and he was sure most of their colleagues didn't get why they were even together, how they ever made a good couple or why they'd lasted as long as they did.

But he didn't care what they thought. It wasn't any of their business anyway.

What had started as a massive personality clash between them both, as well as arguments that included some pretty violent wall slamming and some loud confrontations, led to a very tentative friendship. After mutual apologies, they'd shared a case involving a young boy who was close to losing his battle to stay alive and _that_ was what set their friendship on track.

Putting the six months of tension behind them, they gave their all to give the young boy a chance and they had succeeded, much to the happiness of the young boy's family and the boy himself. But there was something more that had emerged between them afterwards, a deep respect and admiration and the chance for something more.

The quiet after the storm was what was the most confusing for a short while.

There was a calmness and understanding between them where things were left unsaid but understood without a word. The sexual tension between them was rife however, growing bit by bit for weeks afterwards, but it was Reid who'd made the first move after things became unbearable. He'd kissed Luke unexpectedly at his door, after having walked him home following a dinner with mutual friends from the hospital.

" _Finally_...what took you so long?" Luke had murmured, their lips so close that his words had caught on them. "God, you're _infuriating_."

"And you're a brat," Reid countered.

Luke had shrugged and thrown him a saucy wink. "You want to see how bratty I am in bed? This is absolutely nothing, doctor."

Reid had grinned at the cheesiness of what he'd said, kissing him once more with Luke laughing happily against his lips. They'd tumbled through Luke's front door in no time, shedding their clothes as they climbed the stairs and Reid had found out exactly how bratty Luke could be.

Five months on and their relationship was growing from strength to strength and it was a day like today that made him want to take the next step so something like this would never happen again.

"Reeeid, she's seven and I promised her I'll be there when she wakes up."

Reid ignored him and pushed Luke down onto the bed and lifted his legs onto it as he continued rambling. He'd been sure to let the other doctors around know not to disturb him because taking Luke home was pointless, especially when he was so dead on his feet and he didn't have his car. Luke needed sleep wherever he could find it.

"Robyn sent you, didn't she?" Reid glared at him some more and Luke huffed dramatically. "Urgh, I _knew_ she would tell on me but forget about her-- _Reeeeid_ , Poppy has no family and I know what a transplant feels like, right? I gotta be there for her."

"No," Reid sat down next to him and quickly unlaced his sneakers and rid him of his socks, too. "You're not going anywhere until you've gotten some sleep. There are other doctors here for her, Luke."

"I knowww, but--"

"Luke, please--" Reid pulled the covers from under Luke's legs and draped it over him before grabbing a hold of his hand, rubbing his thumb over his fingers, pleading,"--can you please, for my sake, just sleep."

Luke gazed at him for a long moment, mapping his face with his eyes, before nodding, his hair scratching the pillow beneath his head. "Sleep with me?" he asked around a yawn, pulling on Reid's hand.

Reid quirked an eyebrow knowingly but Luke snorted out a laugh, "No sex, only sleep, I promise--just want you here."

But he was quick to comply and settled himself next to Luke, lying down so that they were face to face. Luke snuggled right into him with his eyes closed, tucking his head under Reid's chin and threw an arm over his waist.

"I'm not staying," Reid told him with a small laugh, curling around Luke despite himself.

Luke grunted angrily. "Shhhh, I know--I'm not used to sleeping without you anymore."

Reid smiled to himself, a hand carding through Luke's hair. "Is that so?"

"'N you smell good after you've come back from a run, all hot and sexy and musky."

Reid resisted the urge to laugh. "That's an odd kink to have."

"Don't care," Luke breathed, lifting his head from where it had been buried in Reid's chest and pressed their foreheads together, one eye opening. "I have so many more kinks I haven't admitted yet, so you got time to run if you wanna."

Leaning in for a soft but chaste kiss, Reid let his palm slide against Luke's jaw and down the side of his neck. "I'm not going anywhere," he said softly, "nothing scares me."

A rumble of a laugh slipped past Luke's lips and he stole one more kiss, closing his eyes again. "Attaboy--I knew I kept you around for a reason."

Reid huffed a laugh but became serious, thumb rubbing soothingly over Luke's jaw, against the grain of his stubble. "What does scare me though is that you did this to yourself today. I know you care about your patients, and I admire that about you, but you can't be such a dedicated and caring doctor if you don't take care of yourself."

Luke blearily opened his eyes, mouth opening to protest but Reid hushed him. " _No_ , when you wake up we're going to talk about how you're moving in with me so I can keep an eye on you because I'm never ever letting this happening again, okay?"

There was silence for a long moment as Luke met his gaze unashamedly, his eyes filled with an inexplicable happiness.

Reid was pretty confident that this next step in their relationship was a go.

"Yeah," Luke whispered, his lips curving up into a sleepy smile. "Okay."

Reid didn't say another word and smiled back, Luke's own smile growing bigger before closing his eyes and ducking back into his earlier position, his head buried in Reid's chest.

"Love you," Reid _felt_ more than heard Luke murmur into his chest.

Reid's heart skipped a beat, body tensing because Luke had never said that out loud and neither had Reid. He wasn't sure if he'd heard right but no, _he had--_ he'd heard Luke's confession clearly, there was no doubt about it.

It didn't scare him at all though, not like he thought it would.

Loving Luke was as easy as breathing and it was about time that they said it out loud, even if Reid couldn't understand how Luke had fallen in love with someone like him. And it figured, Reid thought to himself, that Luke would tell him that he loved him for the first time whilst he was half asleep.

Reid buried his nose in Luke's hair and hid his smile in it, but not before placing a kiss there with his eyes tightly shut, knowing that these words were just a verbal confirmation of his feelings. He'd demonstrated those words in many forms and would continue to do so for as long as he lived. "Love you, too," he confessed, voice soft.

"Mmmm, awesome," Luke huffed, tightening his hold on Reid, fingers curled into his hoody, his breaths becoming deeper and slower as he succumbed to dreamland, "now lemme sleep, you asshole."

Stifling a laugh in Luke's hair, Reid acquiesced, wondering how the hell he'd managed to find someone so ridiculously annoying and lovable at the same time. He rubbed a soothing and slow hand up and down Luke's back for a long while, feeling small puffs of air hitting his chest minutes later that let him know that his job was done.

And if Reid ended up taking a quick nap with him too--no one needed to know.  

 

 

 


End file.
